You could be forgiven for thinking it was a new series of Dancing On Ice.

The Olympic figure skating teams in Vancouver yesterday seemed as competitive with their costumes as they were with their skills on the ice.

For the original dance category, couples had been required to create a routine inspired by a country of folk theme.

Yee-ha! British figure skating team Sinead and John Kerr went for a country and western-style routine for the Original Dance contest in Vancouver yesterday

But unlike U.S. skater Evan Lysacek,
who was wearing Vera Wang as he scooped his gold on Thursday, their offerings were more silly than sophisticated.

British brother and sister team Sinead
and John Kerr, who currently stand in eighth place, went for a country-western theme in denim and plaid - she in Daisy Duke-style hotpants, he in a cowboy hat that would make the Village People jealous.

Dancing to Johnny Cash's 'I've Been Everywhere', their routine proved a real crowd-pleaser, despite failing to impress the judges.

Howdy pardner! Sinead takes the strain as she carried John just like Daisy would in the Dukes Of Hazzard

Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, won the competition with a sexy flamenco number, while the French team went for a native can-can style dance in outfits that wouldn't have looked out of place in the Moulin Rouge circa 1900.

But that was nothing compared with the efforts of the Russian team, which opted for nude-coloured bodysuits embellished with Aboriginal-style markings and faux foliage.

Indeed, world champions Oksana Domnina
and Maxim Shabalin, who first wore the costumes at the European
Championships contest last month, have since been forced to tone down
their act after indigenous Australian leaders slammed the routine as
cultural theft, citing inauthentic steps and gaudy costumes.

Ooh la la: French skaters Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder performed a Can Can-style dance that would not have looked out of place in the Moulin Rouge

US' Meryl Davis and Charlie White impressed judges with their Bollywood number, in which they played bride and groom in a Mumbai wedding

Bev Manton, chairperson of the Aboriginal Land Council in New South Wales state, called it appalling. 'The whole thing was a poor effort,' she said. 'They could have provided more respect to our culture by doing more research.'

Miss Domina, however, insists that the routine was fair. 'We respect this culture,' she said. 'It's very unique, and that's why we chose it.'